ALREADY shaken by the intrusion of the coronavirus within its ranks, the PBA is now faced with the grim possibility of seeing its ongoing season coming to a screeching halt.
Commissioner Willie Marcial raised this bleak scenario should the IATF, the government’s lead agency in making policies regarding the pandemic, deny his request that the pro league be allowed to continue playig.
“Pag na-deny, wala tayo, tigil,” Marcial told Malaya-Business Insight yesterday, adding he forwarded the letter of request Monday of last week.
“But as of now, wala tayong magagawa kundi maghintay ng sagot nila,” added Marcial. “Sana paborable maging sagot.”
Marcial’s move to write the letter was in anticipation of the government again putting NCR and its environs in another lockdown as it tries to head off a surge in cases of a hyper-contagious coronavirus strain labeled as the Delta variant.
The government announced last Friday that such a lockdown would be enforced in several areas, foremost of which is Metro Manila, during a two-week period starting this Friday to avoid the spread of the variant, which as of yesterday has already infected more than 200 in the country.
Among the restrictions in such a lockdown include a prohibition on playing indoor sports such as basketball.
Marcial said contained in his letter to the IATF is being allowed to transfer the games from the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig to Lipa, Batangas.
Since being allowed to start playing its season last July 16 and despite some strict health and safety protocols, the PBA has been encroached on by the virus, forcing it to postpone some games.
The latest rumors of infections within the league surfaced when two games.
Marcial declined to name the teams with suspected cases, but said: “Kahit walang positive sa player, team officials, kailangan pa ring sundin ang protocols na nailatag natin. Parte na rin ng precautionary measures natin.”
The uncertainties have also forced the PBA to discard its original schedules and come up with new weekly schedules following the mandatory testing done on all league and team personnel every Monday.
